Although only one of the Cleveland's "Big 3" played against the Milwaukee Bucks on October 14, the Cavs managed to win 106-100, pushing their winning streak to 3-0 in the preseason games.
In a report by AP Sports published on Yahoo, with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving sitting out, Kevin Love scored 25 points while Dion Waiters added 23 points for the Cavaliers. James could have played but coach David Blatt preferred to let their superstar rest. LeBron was on the bench cheering for the team. The Cavs last played with James and Irving against the Miami Heat in Rio De Janeiro on October 11, 2014, where the Cavs also won. LeBron is expected to play again on October 22 against the Indiana Pacers.
On Tuesday night's game, Love shot 5-of-7 from the three-point range. However, Blatt shared that he was not very pleased with the team taking so many shots from long range. The Cavs attempted 34 three-pointers total. Love, however, shot 9-of-12 from beyond the arc in the two previous games. Blatt said that it was fine as long as they do not force shots, "He can take all he wants." The coach added, "I don't think that anyone here is surprised by Kevin's ability to come out and do the things that he does. He's a high-level player. He really found his way last Saturday in Brazil. Tonight, Kyrie (Irving) and LeBron (James) aren't there and he's doing the same thing. So, his consistency has been really good."
According to NBA.com, the supporting cast of the Cleveland Cavaliers did a great job in making up for the absence of their two stars. Shawn Marion led the team in rebounds with seven and scored 11 points. Matthew Dellavedova had a team-high nine assists. A.J. Price led in bench scoring with nine points while Alex Kirk had eight points and three rebounds coming off the bench.
Dellavedova, who covered for Irving, said, "That's what I played all through college so I feel pretty comfortable playing point guard and I played the point at the World Cup with Australia. So it's just getting used to these sets like Coach Blatt wants but I'm feeling more and more comfortable."
For the Milwaukee Bucks, rookie Jabari Parker led the team with 18 points while playing 27 minutes, writes Cleveland.com. The Bucks shot 47 percent from the field while the Cavs shot 45 percent.